2018 game releases! There are many still to come. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video game schedule quite so intense or jam-packed, at least not in terms of the major franchises being represented. Over the next four months, we can expect…

• Marvel’s Spider-Man – September 7
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider – September 14
• Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 – September 27
• Forza Horizon 4 – October 2
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – October 5
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – October 12
• Red Dead Redemption 2 – October 26
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy – November 13
• Fallout 76 – November 14
• Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu / Eevee! – November 16
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – December 7

Surely the only other major IP not represented in this list is Sonic the Hedgehog?!

Oh no wait…

• Team Sonic Racing – “late 2018″ 😉

This is actually a bit of a problem for gamers. Even if a person has the finances to purchase each of these titles at launch, I doubt they’d have sufficient time to play them all within such a concentrated window of time. However, I’m going to assume that most people reading this are looking at their bank balances with some degree of trepidation, and wondering quite how they’re going to call it. Spider-Man or Tomb Raider? Assassin’s Creed or Fallout? Pokémon or Smash Bros??

Fortunately, I’ve applied some icy-cool logic to the problem and come up with a brief list of solutions to help you manage your video game purchases over this slightly overwhelming period. You’re welcome.

 

1) Assume that Spyro and Sonic will be delayed

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy was originally meant to launch in September, but Activision pushed it back to November because it felt the title needed “more love and care.” And when a game has been delayed once, there’s always a fear that it can be pushed back even further. Thus, I think it’s safe to assume that, even if it launches on November 13 as planned, it may benefit from a little patching before it can be appreciated at its finest, so maybe it’s okay to wait for this one.

And with Team Sonic Racing, we don’t even have a release date yet, which is a bit disconcerting when you consider how close we are to the touted Q4 2018 window. As such, it might be worth nudging this one down the list of priorities.

2) Remember that Life is Strange 2 is episodic

This means that, technically speaking, the full game will not be available for quite some time, as there are five chapters making up this instalment. And you could argue that the best way to appreciate a video game is in its entirety, so if you feel you can wait maybe a year or so, do it; just keep reminding yourself that it could be in your best interests 🙂

3) Ask Santa to help with Smash Bros.

The good thing about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is that it’s releasing crazily-close to Christmas. Therefore, this is definitely a title to put on your letter to Santa, as you’ll only have to wait a couple of weeks for him to wrap it up and put it under your tree. And let’s face it, half the world is going to be playing Smash Bros. on Christmas Day, so you’ll be in excellent company.

You could apply the same strategy to Pokémon: Let’s Go if you feel you can hold out for a month or so. Just keep reminding yourself that it’s a remake of Pokémon Yellow and so – in a sense – you’ve already played it 😉

4) Assassin’s Creed or Fallout?

You’ll have to make your first judgement call with this one. Bear in mind that Assassin’s Creed has done very well for releases over the last few years, whilst the last Fallout game was in 2015. So, if you haven’t already milked the previous Assassin’s Creed instalments for all their worth (and assuming you already own them) maybe do some revisiting to get your fix?

So yes, I’d be leaning towards Fallout 76 for this one, but it’s a tough call. (Not that they’re massively similar games…!)

5) There hasn’t been a Red Dead Redemption game since 2010

By the same logic, I think it’s okay to nudge Red Dead Redemption 2 up the list of 2018 game releases, given that it’s been eight years since its ground-breaking first title. This is a hotly-anticipated sequel and games such as these only come around every so often. If you need to explain yourself to your accountant, refer them back to this article.

6) Choose your final game based on review scores

And if Marvel’s Spider-Man, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Forza Horizon 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 all score the same, then I recommend asking the Force for guidance. Moreover, a ‘review score method’ only works if you don’t mind waiting to make your purchase.

If you’re a person who would like to play the game on release day, then we can look to the font-of-all-knowledge that is Metacritic to help us make an informed decision.

Here’s how the franchise’s previous instalments reviewed according to their Metascores:

• Song of the Deep (the last major title made by Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games) – PS4 69 / Xbox One 66 / PC 71 = average 69
• Rise of the Tomb Raider – PS4 88 / no Metascores for Xbox One or PC = average 88
• Forza Motorsport 7 – Xbox One 86 / PC 82 = average 84
• Call of Duty: WWII – PS4 79 / Xbox One 80 / PC 73 = average 77

So the conclusion we can draw from this is that your optimum purchase is Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Woo!

And there we are.

An overwhelming release schedule narrowed down into three purchases: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey / Fallout, followed by Red Dead Redemption 2 and (potentially) Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Perfect for those of us trying to game on a budget!

How do you feel about this purchasing strategy? Is it a scandal to all that is moral and holy? Have I missed some hotly-anticipated 2018 game releases from my list and thrown the whole system into chaos? Will Team Sonic Racing really be delayed?? Leave your answers below!

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